Clasp



Feb. 5, 1957 T. E. JORDAN CLASP Filed Sept. 15, 1955 4 INVEIVTOR. THOMASE. JORDAN ATTORNEYS United States Patent CLASP Thomas E. Jordan,Pawtucket, R. I., assiguor to Fulford p lanufacturing Company, acorporation of Rhode sland Application September 15, 1953, Serial No.380,283

1 Claim. (Cl. 24-153) This invention relates to a clasp which may beused to fasten several sheets of material together and is moreparticularly designed for holding a plurality of trans parent pockets ina pass case of a billfold.

An object of this invention is to provide a clasp which will holdassembled a plurality of pieces of material in the desired relationship.

Another object of the invention is to provide a clasp which may bereadily separated for the addition or subtraction of the material beingheld.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device which maybe inexpensively manufactured and consist of few parts.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction as will be more fully described andparticularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. l is a perspective view of the clasp of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the body portion of the clasp;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the keeper portion;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the clasp with the keeper in partiallyremoved position;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing a clasp in closed position holding aplurality of pieces of material.

In proceeding with this invention, 1 provide a generally U-shaped bodysection with upstanding arms, which are notched on their facing edgesand additionally provide a keeper member having two holes therethroughwhich are spaced approximately the distance of the spacing of said arms,the inner edges of said holes being adapted to cooperate with thenotches so as to provide a gripping action.

With reference to the drawings, designates generally the clasp whichcomprises a body portion 11 having at the ends thereof two upstandingarms 12 and 13. The arms 12 and 13 are preferably formed integral withthe body portion 11, although if desired they may be fixed thereto bysoldering or other means known to those skilled in the art. Theupstanding arms 12 and 13 are provided with a plurality of notches orserrations 14 on the facing portions thereof which preferably take theform of a horizontal cut to a maximum depth with a tapering wedgeprotrusion extending therebelow, said structure being repeated to thedesired extent.

A keeper 16 is provided for the upstanding arms and comprises a piece ofsheet stock folded into generally a channel shape so as to form a backwall 17 and side walls 155. The back wall 17 has cut therein twoapertures or holes 19, 20, the spacing of said holes being approximatelyequal to the spacing of the arms 12 and 13. These holes .19 and 20 haveedges 21 and 22 of a generally straight configuration, said edges beingadapted to engage the innermost cut of the notches 14.

As shown in Fig. 4, one of the ends, generally designated 25, of thekeeper 16 may be detached from the arm 13 by placing the forefinger onthe arm 13 with the thumb underneath the end 25 of the keeper 16. Aforce may then be exerted by the forefinger to spring the arm 13outwardly in the direction shown by arrow 26 so as to disengage the edge21 of the keeper 16 from the notches 14 and then an upward pressureexerted in the direction shown by the arrow 27 may be applied by thethumb to raise the keeper upwardly out of engagement with the notches14. During this operation the opposite end 24 of the keeper 1'6 will bepivoting about its engagement with the arm 12 and after the hole 20 hasbecome free of the arm 14 the hole 19 may be readily disengaged from thearm 12 by raising the end 24. To attach the keeper to the body portion,it is merely necessary to line up the holes 19 and 20 with theupstanding arms 12 and 13 and press the keeper downwardly, preferably inthe center thereof, or at each end as the occasion might arise, tosecure a firm grip of the material 30 being held, such as shown in Figs.4 and 5. By this arrangement of detachment of the keeper bar 16 and thebody portion, quick assembly may be readily secured as well as rapiddisassembly, either by the manufacturer or the user, should it bedesired to insert or remove the material being held.

I claim:

A clasp for securing sheaves of material together comprising a one-piecegenerally U-shaped member of sheet strip material having a base in oneplane and upstanding arms twisted through from the base and extending atright angles to the base, the upstanding arms of said member havingserrations along the facing edges thereof and being movable away fromeach other due to the inherent resiliency of the one-piece stock, arigid keeper of U-shape cross section having apertures in the bridgingpart of the U section for registry with said arms, a portion of saidapertures having edges for engagement with said serrations, whereby saidarms may flex to engage and disengage said keeper.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS797,442 Leslie 0 Aug. 15, 1905 828,067 Snyder Aug. 7, 1906 2,348,430Wall May 9, 1944 2,376,423 Evans May 22, 1945

